Apple shares surged 13% this week, marking the company’s largest weekly gain in more than five years, following a high-profile White House meeting between CEO Tim Cook and President Donald Trump.
The rally, which included a 4% rise on Friday to close at $229.35 per share, added over $400 billion to Apple’s market capitalization, bringing it to $3.4 trillion. The tech giant now stands as the third-most valuable company, trailing Nvidia and Microsoft and ahead of Alphabet and Amazon.
The catalyst for the market’s optimism was an announcement made by Cook alongside Trump on Wednesday, detailing Apple’s commitment to invest $100 billion in American companies and components over the next four years. In response, President Trump indicated that Apple would be exempt from future tariffs that could have otherwise doubled the cost of imported chips.
The news alleviated significant investor concern over the potential impact of tariffs on Apple’s profitability. The company had previously warned in July of expecting over $1 billion in tariff-related costs in the current quarter alone. “Apple and Tim Cook delivered a masterclass in managing uncertainty after months and months of overhang,” JP Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee wrote in a note on Wednesday, maintaining an overweight rating on the stock.
This successful negotiation at the White House follows a strong June quarter earnings report two weeks prior, in which Apple announced a 10% jump in overall revenue and 13% growth in iPhone sales.
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